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It might seem tongue-in-cheek on the surface, but the fact that the title of Eldritch Priest's sprawling debut vinyl release, Omphaloskepsis, is the Greek translation for “navel-gazing” unlocks something essential to the Vancouver-based composer and writer's singular outlook.
Perhaps even more telling is the title of Priest's 2013 book Boring Formless Nonsense: Experimental Music and the Aesthetics of Failure (Bloomsbury), whose 300-odd pages read as though you've been dosed with potent hallucinogens. Throughout the text Priest addresses—celebrates, even—the titular elements via various musical examples, including that of his peers. What's so bewildering it is that his descriptions of how boredom, formlessness, and nonsense manifest are laced with the very tactics he's depicting. Passages tie themselves in knots, footnotes engulf the “primary text,” he even deliberately misleads the reader.
The restless stasis of Omphaloskepsis could be regarded as an extension of this book's wayward spirit. Things unfold fairly slowly and consistently but it'd be a stretch to describe it as properly contemplative. Like attempting to meditate with a high fever, any sense of tranquility is constantly derailed as one succumbs to queasy agitation. The piece's foundation is a seemingly endless guitar melody; an organic meander that neither seems to repeat or offer any concessions to narrative directionality. Priest unfurls this rambling cantus firmus in a rich, clean, jazz-like tone, but as it's played, it's repeatedly tangled with snarls of dense digital processing and shadowed by stumbling virtual “band.” These strident interjections blatantly contrast with the guitar, yet they aren't so violent as to offer more than a faint itch of distraction. As such, the distinctive amorphousness that this piece asks us to inhabit for its 54-minute duration leaves a strong impression, but also feels utterly intangible.
In addition to his recorded forays, Priest's disorienting music has also been performed by top-tier interpreters such as the Arditti Quartet, Quatuor Bozzini, Philip Thomas, Anton Lukoszevieze, and Continuum. While living in Toronto he co-founded the collective neither/nor with John Mark Sherlock, which featured a cross section of musician-composers playing each other's work including Eric Chenaux, Doug Tielli, Eric KM Clark, Heather Roche, and Rob Clutton. “Though the name refers specifically to a loosely knit group of composers and performers,” remark's the collective's website “neither/nor is also a sensibility that refuses art’s messianic pretensions and the gaping maw of commercialized society, opting instead for art’s right to be esoteric.” In 2021, when Eric Chenaux and Martin Arnold relaunched their neither/nor-adjacent Rat-drifting imprint, an album by Priest, Many Traceries, was among the first to be released. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Priest was a student at the University of Victoria, a school that's come to be known for fostering such staunch individualists as Arnold, Linda Catlin Smith, Allison Cameron, and Anna Höstman.
As a scholar, Priest writes from a 'pataphysical perspective and deals with topics such as sonic culture, experimental aesthetics and the philosophy of experience. Priest brings these interests to his job as an Associate Professor in the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University, interests that also inform his work as a member the experimental theory group The Occulture. In addition to Omphaloskepsis, his new book, Earworm and Event: Music, Daydreams and Other Imaginary Refrains,
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The Tears of Joy label boss returns with an encompassing tribute to the power of the dancefloor. As a member of Pacific Horizons and under a host of other aliases, the Los Angeles-based producer has explored the breadth of dance music - from Mancuso-inspired loft house to bassbin rumblers that nod to his familial relationship with the U.K. - but his most personal statements have been reserved for the Live For Each Moon moniker.
As a result of this, and also by nature of its journey/trip sequencing, 'A Vision of Dance' reaches for a comprehensive sound, honed over decades of observation and participation. The producer's varied interests shine through, and they are pushed beyond genre experiment into new, hybridized shapes - sinewy, searching, warehouse techno shares space with crunchy, heaving breakbeat cut-ups and churning, slow motion chugs. While the overall pace leans toward the trancelike whirlwind, a few atmospheric, introspective interludes are cut in as kind of existential breathers - nods to LFEM's back catalog of haunted ambience as much as ravers' respites.
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"In Waves is a new sister label of Lee Burridge's All Day I Dream. Its third release comes from Zone+ and is a superb 13 track collection that sinks you deep into the artist's rich house sounds.
A Balloon In The Wind (Ambient) opens top with dreamy pads and spring day sounds, then supple grooves arrive like Hello to take you away into a hypnotic world. Shinobi has bumpier drums and elastic bass, Bohemian brings worldly percussive sounds and Mandalorian layers up smooth drums with soft pads and angelic vocals.
This most heady and cuddly of albums plays out through the clipped house and subtly funky kicks of What's Going On, the bubbly sounds and Middle Eastern vocals of The Musician and widescreen melancholic chords of Luna. Electric Dreams is a fine collab with Usif and the album closes on the tightly woven late night deep house of Uncommon.
This is a masterful album of smartly layered grooves, emotional pads and escapist vibes."
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The fast rising FUTURA imprint from Leon, releases its new release from Mexican DJ Producer Mike.D with stellar remixes from Len Lewis and Do Or Die to complete the package .
Salomon Records founder Mike.D hails from Juarez Chihuahua, and is considered one of the new generation talents of DJs and producers from northern Mexico. His music selection and mixing abilities have given him the opportunity to play at the legendary Mexican venue Hardpop for many years. As a producer he’s released on labels like Kanja Records, Kina Music, The Lab, Dream Culture and more which has cemented his place in the scene. His music is regularly supported and played by the likes of Arapu, Sepp, Cosmjn, Maher Daniel, Mihai Pol, Sublee, YokoO and more.
For his debut release on Futura, he drops 2 originals the first of which is the title track ‘Mente Trascendente’. An edgy minimal deep tech house track with a grooving electronic bassline, deep atmospheric pads, classy beat pattern all combining to create an elegant 8 minute journey. The second on the package is Len Lewis’s remix of ‘Mente Trascendente’. Len Lewis released his first track back in ‘93 on Jumpin & Pumpin, which then led to records on the likes of the legendary Swag. Lewis’ designated name for his sound is, SiTH, Sinister Tech House, claiming its mysterious name after a Mixmag reviewer used this description for his music many years ago. His remix fits this name perfectly, powerful low bassline drives the track effortlessly, and smooth breakdown combining with eerie incidentals and pads, treated vocal cuts providing the signature hook for the track. This is a remix that’s perfect for the heads in the scene.
Next up we have ‘Sendero Interno’. The original mix is a pure minimal work out right from the outset. The stripped back and delicate beats use popping sounds for filling the frequencies, and work perfectly against the backdrop of the brooding pads and synths make this an classy introspective underground track, which is everything the Futura label is about. To round things off we have the final remix which comes from My Own Jupiter DJ Producer, Do Or Die. Well known for producer techno and electro the fast rising producer, delivers an acid house sci-fi esq work out on this remix with punching beats cutting through the mix, whilst retaining the brooding synths and samples from the original and adding in some special vocal cuts to keep this remix unique and perfect for the floor.
- A1: Yaw - Where Will You Be
- A2: Flying Lotus Feat. Andreya Triana - Tea Leaf Dancers**
- A3: Les Sins - Grind**
- B1: Noir & Haze - Around (Solomun Vox)**
- B2: Julien Dyne Feat. Mara Tk - Stained Glass Fresh Frozen
- B3: Jitwam - Keepyourbusinesstoyourself
- C1: Dopehead - Guttah Guttah
- C2: Talc - Robot's Return (Modern Sleepover Part 2)**
- C3: Peter Digital Orchestra - Jeux De Langues**
- C4: Jai Paul - Btstu**
- D1: Beady Belle - When My Anger Starts To Cry**
- D2: Daniel Bortz - Cuz You're The One**
- D3: Joeski Feat. Jesánte - How Do I Go On**
- E1: Nightmares On Wax - Les Nuits
- E2: Slf & Merkin - Tag Team Triangle**
- E3: Lady Alma - It's House Music ** Moodymann Edit
- F1: Tirogo - Disco Maniac
- F2: Kings Of Tomorrow Feat. April - Fall For You (Sandy Rivera's Classic Mix)**
- F3: Soulful Session, Lynn Lockamy - Hostile Takeover
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NO.2 on the groove charts!
Following a year that saw the 50th entry in the long-running series released to wide acclaim, DJ-Kicks returns in 2016 another landmark edition. Iconic Detroit DJ and producer Moodymann is at the helm for his first ever multi-artist DJ mix compilation. Born Kenny Dixon Jr., Moodymann is a one-of-a-kind electronic music icon, hailing from, and wholly synonymous with the Motor City. He is an outspoken, impossibly charismatic artist who has been putting a distinctive and soulful stamp on house and techno since the early 90s. Melting together jazz, funk, soul, blues and rock in captivating ways, he is responsible for some of electronic music's most definitive tracks, EPs and LPs on labels like Planet E, Peacefrog and his own KDJ and Mahogani Music imprints. As able to serve up the sweetest and most sensual sounds as he is the darkest and most depraved grooves, his own unique voice and stream of conscious musings infuse expertly sought-out samples for music that is decisively alive and authentic.
Across 75 minutes and 30 tracks, Moodymann does not disappoint: despite being a notorious vinyl fetishist, Dixon's aim is to present music of quality, not to one-up fellow collectors. Rather than serving up ridiculously rare or hard-to-find records, he instead focuses on creating a libidinous, blues-drenched mood that takes in heart-breaking soul, gorgeous hip-hop and love-fuelled house. In addition to cuts from his own creative circle, the mix features 11 exclusive Moodymann edits. Like everything Kenny Dixon Jr. touches, DJ-Kicks showcases the taste, skill, and soul of a dance music original.
Three years after he released the incredible New Experience EP (picking up plaudits from Bill Brewster, Tim Sweeney, Laurent Garnier, Horse Meat Disco, Leo Mas & 6Music’s Tom Ravenscroft, among many more), Tokyo’s Kota Motomura returns to Hobbes Music for his debut LP, Pay It Forward. This is the first vinyl release on Hobbes Music since the much-loved ‘Aranath’ EP by Leonidas & Hobbes last Spring. While the label maintains the level of quality control for which it has become recognised, the artist continues to subvert electronic and dance music norms in his iconoclastic way on this extraordinary record.
He’s a mysterious character with an ear for idiosyncratic music that runs the gamut from ambient, exotica and jazz to disco, house and techno via post punk, new wave and funk. It’s highly original and all adds up to a confection perhaps best described as ‘Balearic’.
Album opener Paradise is a certified jazz-funk JAM. Destined for dance floors worldwide, this one’s been dropping well with DJs, Motomura demonstrating his piano chops alongside Mutsumi Takeuchi’s sax. Tropical pushes the boat in a more rhythmic direction, some pretty wild drum programming laced with more sounds of the, um, tropics, before mad vocal yelps suggest something yet more tribal. To Be Free initially resembles early 90s progressive house (pulsing bassline, synth-driven melodies), before the arrival of some new wave guitar licks a la classic Talking Heads/David Byrne and ooh ooh vocal chants take it to another dimension altogether.
B-side opener Emotion features Takeuchi again (on flute this time) and more vocal chants before things take a dramatic turn, threatening to open up into a full fanfare before calming and then bursting into wild life again with the exhortation that “C’mon, everybody dancing!” Rhythm flirts with an energy and pace more akin to a techno record: drums, drums, more drums plus a fair few yelps and chants - the kind of DJ tool that will send a simmering dance floor wild in the right hands. Flower closes things in a more melancholy style, familiar to fans of ‘Aboy’ from the New Experience EP, with plaintive acoustic guitar (performed by Akichi), birdsong and big piano chords.
Support from Bill Brewster, Leo Mas, Al Kent, Red Rack’em, Nick The Record, Phil Mison, Phat Phil Cooper, KZA, Sean Johnston (ALFOS), S/A/M, Dribbler, Joe Muggs, Monolith Cocktail and more…
‘Gonna review in MÜ mag... very fine stuff!’ JOE MUGGS
‘Will be reviewed on the blog’ MONOLITH COCKTAIL
BILL BREWSTER played Flower on the DJ History podcast #641 (25.3.22)
'I really like this album, Flower and Paradise are my favourite' LEO MAS
‘I like Paradise’ AL KENT
‘Woo this is tasty. DEFO playing on my next radio show. The label’s A&R is defo getting better and better. HM has been putting out some dope stuff and this one seems really good quality’ RED RACK’EM
‘Paradise and Flower sounding good’ NICK THE RECORD
‘Tunes sound great!’ PHIL MISON
‘Going to include Paradise and Flower on my Sunday Ibiza global radio show PHAT PHIL COOPER (Nu Northern Soul)
‘Very nice album with influences from many different genres. I especially like To Be Free with nice synths and guitar cutting, and Flower, which is a chill vibe’ KZA (Mule Musiq, Endless Flight)
'100% correct about the ALFOS potential of To Be Free!' SEAN JOHNSTON (A Love From Outer Space)
'Stunning, will fit perfectly with the vibe of my radio show’ S/A/M (Music For Dreams, DK; Playa Del Sol, Ibiza)
'Stellar work, i'll make a bet that Flowers is a Balaeric classic this summer' DRIBBLER (Breakfast Club, Ibiza)
‘It's cool in a nice smelling psycho sense, it was a very DEEP sound that I couldn't produce. Congrats!’ ALTZ (Altzmusica)
‘Paradise is my jam, it's deep, sunny and never boring. I'm interested to see how this will work on the dance floor. Overall a great album with solid composition and impressive use of live instruments!’ SOBRIETY (fka Chloé Juliette)
'Very tidy selection' ASTROJAZZ (Kelburn Garden Party, Wee Dub, Samedia Shebeen, Disco Makossa)
‘This is a lovely release. Follows on from New Experience in the best way possible. It's got lots of vibes going on but holds together as a cohesive piece of work. Love it’ JAMIE THOMSON (La Cheetah, Glasgow)
‘To Be Free is a track i could imagine Andy Weatherall playing in one of his sets at A Love From Outer Space’ KIRSTIE PATON aka She-Bang Rave Unit (Threads Radio, Radio Magnetic)
The masterclass collection of deep melodic house & techno sound is going into the 21st round! "Parquet Most Wanted Vol. 21", featuring worldwide supported & breathtaking productions by SOLEE, JAMES HARCOURT, RAUSCHHAUS and NORS KODE. These tracks are already played by A-List DJs like Kölsch, Innellea, Dave Seaman, Fideles, Dosem, John Digweed, D-Nox, Magdalena, Eelke Kleijn, Bebetta, Markus Kavka and many more.
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R.A.J.S. i.e. 'Rivers Area Juke Squad', though this one's this time not really from Chicago, but from The Hague/La Haia. Bouncin' and droppin' 'Juke'-style ghetto-tech bass music with some really authentic 'Latino' edge, surrounded by the sounds of the city streets...'The Squad' contains 2 Mc's: Mc Ravelo & Mc Electronic B, while their producer Kipkillah takes care of both the 'man-beating' and the 'beating-tracks'.
- A1: All Werk Is Play
- A2: Move Different
- A3: You Kraft
- B1: Eterno Retorno (Feat Moreiya)
- B2: Battered Mars Bar
- B3: Downtools & Boost
- B4: In Saint-Gilles (Feat Le Motel)
- C1: May Day (Feat Chunky)
- C2: On The Rhythm Of It
- C3: Microwerk
- C4: Beauty & The Bloc
- D1: Pick Up Football
- D2: Count Yer Pace (Feat Kemani Anderson)
- D3: Derive
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First Word Records is very pleased to bring you the sophomore album from Werkha, a 14-track double LP entitled 'All Werk Is Play'.
Werkha hails from Manchester and has been releasing music for a decade, collaborating and remixing artists such as Quantic, Bryony Jarman-Pinto, Marcos Valles and Andrew Ashong. Werkha and his live band have been lighting up dancefloors in recent months at venues such as Low Four Studio in Manchester and The Jazz Cafe in London, with festival appearances locked for the Summer at the likes of We Out Here and Moovin. In past years, he has toured extensively with artists like Bonobo, Chet Faker and Mr Scruff.
In 2020, Werkha released 'The Rigour' on First Word, and dropped 'Beat Tapestry' in late 2021 on a limited cassette. 'All Werk Is Play' marks Werkha's first full-length solo project since his debut album 'Colours Of A Red Brick Raft' on Tru Thoughts in 2015, and sees this multi-talented musician produce a delightfully vibrant body of werk.
This album is predominantly a set of uptempo compositions from Werkha (real name Tom Leah), fusing analogue jazz-funk vibes with modern dance music sensibilities. Nestling somewhere between broken beat and breakbeat, Werkha has been nurturing his own unique sonics for some time; incorporating live horns & wind instruments with bass, double-bass, harp and guitar, along with a selection of sweet squelchy synths and deliciously delectable drum programming.
We've had several single releases from this project so far, namely 'Eterno Retorno' (with Portuguese singer Moreiya),'In Saint-Gilles' (with Brussels DJ & producer, Le Motel), 'Move Different' (with Mancunian singer & musician Ellen Beth Abdi), 'Beauty & The Bloc' and 'Battered Mars Bar'. As well as the afore-mentioned collaborations, this album also features bars from legendary MCR MC Chunky (Swamp81 / Levelz) on 'May Day', soulful vocals from Kemani Anderson (Secret Night Gang) on 'Count Yer Pace' and some heavyweight accompaniment from the likes of bassists Nick Blacka (GoGo Penguin) and Tom Driessler (Adele, Tom Misch, Jordan Rakei) amongst others.
'All Werk Is Play' was an opportunity for Werkha to produce a full body of work in the conceptual formation of an album, as opposed to a set of singles strung together. From 'The Rigour' EP to the subsequent releases, this album completes a circle in his current creative curve, from a design perspective and sonically. Werkha has been steadily pushing his own self-production and musicality, embracing mistakes, and challenging himself both creatively and mentally. As a self-edutaining piece, the depth, nuances and examples of work as play are numerous, and whilst each track was thematically inspired by different topics, the fun element of "play" was always forefront in his mind, to ultimately create something powerful, yet positive.
In Werkha's words "this record is dedicated to mixing things up, to walking down that street for once because your feet took you that way, to deciding not to take the bus today, to moments of improv, to breaking with convenience, to challenging structure, to play."
Tracks have received recent spins & support from BBC Radio heavyweights on 1Xtra & 6 Music like Jamz Supernova, Tom Ravenscroft, Huey Morgan and Afrodeutsche, as well as love from selectors such as DJ Paulette, Scratcha DVA, Harvey Sutherland, Zakia Sewell (NTS) & Jyoty (Rinse).
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Sampled by Dr.Dre and Jay-Z, cult combo CALIBRO 35 release the new studio album "DECADE" and celebrate 10 years.
Italian super cult combo CALIBRO 35 release their 6th much awaited studio album "DECADE" on February the 9th 2018. "DECADE" marks 10 years of Calibro 35's releases and it's the very first album recorded by Calibro with an orchestral-inspired enlarged line-up that features horns, strings and percussions. Mixed and recorded by CALIBRO's usual suspect and Grammy Award winner Tommaso Colliva, on the album all the influences collected by the band during their last ten years' journey like music, collaborations, movies, gigs, books find their space. "DECADE" is CALIBRO 35's "time capsule" and is as rare and complex as a timeless work.
Musically CALIBRO 35's inner influences like Ennio Morricone, listen for instance to the epic journey of the album's end credits "Travelers", Luis Bacalov and David Axelrod are still there but are now mixed with elements from afrobeat or cosmic jazz. "Psycheground" sounds like Tony Allen involved in writing a score for a vintage Hollywood production while Sun Ra lurks on "Modo". Everything is mixed up with new influences from modern musical languages. References to Jaga Jazzist, Budos Band or Alternative Jazz and Alternative Hip Hop new acts such as Makaya McCraven, Yussef Kamaal, Oddisee can all be found on the album. In tracks such as "Modulor "you realize that Decade is certainly not a point of arrival and expresses the ambition of the band to look further and evolve. All classic Calibro's vintage instruments such as clavinet, eco, analog synths, fuzz guitars are now supported by new ones such as Dan Bau, Balafon and Waterphone ("Polymeri") in the band's new wall of sound. Thanks to the enlarged line-up and the orchestrated parts involved, which pushed the band to experiment new methods of composition, Calibro 35 on "DECADE" sound strong, full and tight as never before.
Active since 2008 CALIBRO 35 enjoys a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest independent band around. During their ten years career, they have been sampled by Dr. Dre on his Compton album, Jay-Z Love Child & Damon Albarn, they shared stages worldwide with the likes of Roy Ayers, Muse, Sun Ra Arkestra, Sharon Jones, Thundercat, Headhunters and as unique musicians they've collaborated with, amongst others PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish and Stewart Copeland and Nic Cester (The Jet). Described by Rolling Stone magazine's as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing, that happened to Italy in the last years", Calibro 35 now count on a number of aficionados worldwide which includes VIP's fans such as Dj Food (Ninja Tune), Mr Scruff and Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin' Criminals) among others.
Pink Vinyl
The year is 1981. The Kiel-based PostPunk / Wave underground outfit NO MORE releases their second ever single „Suicide Commando“ and their world changes forever. Well, not only their world – THE world.
What began as an independently published 7“ single became a cult classic, a genre defining – and defying – song, an all-time dancefloor favorite of many, a timeless signature piece that escaped its original realm of PostPunk x Wave x Indie x Alternative to also become engrainedin the DNA of modern electronic dancefloor culture most prominently in the beloved late 90s permutation presented by DJ Hell which became a classic in its own right. Now the year is 2021. Four decades have passed and NO MORE's „Suicide Commando“ is
back once again - well... the song actually never left! -, this time harking back to the very beginning, the original vibe and the original format.Remastered and re-released with the original tracklisting and paying homage to the original artwork „Suicide Commando“ will be available in 7“ format for the first time since 1981. And staying true to the underground blueprint this 40th anniversary re-release edition once again is put out on the circuit through a small independent label: the Intrauterin Recordings offspring El Caballo Semental which also released NO MORE's „123456789 *baze.djunkiii & Herr Brandt Dream A NuDream Remix“ as a limited to 200 copies one-sided, colored whitelabel 7“ edition in 2019.
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Suns of Arqa is a sonic mission created by luminary Michael Wadada, who began in 1979 after receiving higher guidance in Jamaica while working with roots reggae chanter Prince Far-I. It is a prolific traveling music collective that has seen over 200 collaborators, meant to connect people from all cultures and walks of life through a “deeply spiritual vibration that merges cultures, faiths and musical genres”. Wadada combines ancient Hindustani raga systems with Piobaireachd and Nyabinghi roots drumming, creating ritualistic world music infused with dub and reggae.
The lyrics combine both mystical and sensory elements, often including prayer and referencing a higher power but finding root in experiences common to all people- memory, sight, and physical sensation.
Their first album, Revenge of the Mozabites, was a collaboration between Wadada and On-U Sound creator Adrian Sherwood. Following its 1980 release,Peter Gabriel invited them to perform at the first WOMAD festival. Today, the record is regarded by some as a cult classic. Over the years they have played at many major music festivals including Glastonbury, Big Chill, Telerama Dub Festival, and Transmusicales, and released over 40 albums on Virgin, EMI, Interchill Records, Antler Subway, Red Rhino, and their own label, Arka Sound.
Suns of Arqa has had a seminal influence on the World Beat sound, and continued to make appearances at seasonal festivals and sacred ritual spaces all over the world until 2021. Michael Wadada passed away in the midst of planning their U.S. tour for this release. The record is a compilation of some of Wadada’s and Sleepers Record’s favorite old Sun of Arqa tracks, mixed by Youth and Adrian Sherwood, and mastered by Eroc (drummer of Grobshnitt).
Notable collaborating artists include: Guy Called Gerald, UK producers Youth and John Leckie, Greg Hunter, 808 State's Graham Massey, Finley Quaye, Sounds From the Ground, Bryn Jones aka MuslimGauze, Adrian Sherwood, John Cooper-Clarke, The late great Professor Stanley Unwin, Eric Random, New age guru Tim Wheater, Astralasia, Prince Far-I, The Orb's Alex Patterson, Zion Train, and Gaudi.
"And although the Great Spiritual being Michael Wadada has returned to source and his body to earth at our time, his music is alive and will continue to be a great force for higher spiritual realms and raising vibration through occult frequencies...Suns of Arqa will continue to raise the vibration of the hearts and minds of humanity" – Angela aka Angel-Eye (Wadada's wife and bandmate)
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Belgian Kristof "(DJ) 4T4" Michiels has been around for a while, but this is only his second album under this name. It's practically impossible to categorize, since it holds elements of all eras of dance music. It switches effortlessly from new wave to electro, from punk funk to deep house, without ever feeling concocted. This album's got it all, but the main factor these 10 tracks share is soul. You can feel this wasn't thought up in lab, they're are organic sounds made with nothing but love for music, which grants Union Escapade a timeless feel. If you love club music of all ages, and have an open mind, you should check this out.
The long awaited vinyl press of Chriss Stussy & Djoko's remix of this 1994 club anthem is finally available on plastic, together with a brand new early morning lights remix curated by Enrico Mantini himself.
definitely a killer release in 300 copies limited run
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"This very first release on "Oonops Drops" has its very own story behind it. I planned to found my own label for more than half a year when my wife Lisa worked on her songs and when the idea came to me how this would sound if Japanese Jazz trio Nautilus would arrange some of them. I have known Toshi for six years now, met him personally here in Hanover and he's such a magnificent musician, so the idea became reality and they started working on the first two tracks until a total amount of nine songs was created. I'm so proud to share this very personal project with you (which was finally produced and mastery simultaneous to the foundation of my label by accident) and I hope you like it as much as we do.
For the first single release of the album I directly had the uplifting track "Everytime" in my mind and a remix which should transport the good vibes in a different direction. Pat Van Dyke, a longtime known producer and multi-instrumentalist from New Jersey took his hands on it and created a horns-loaden feel good version of it including a little guest appearance by Brooklyn based lyricist John Robinson.
You can get this release on LP, 7", CD or digital or get the reduced bundle of the LP including the 7".
Yours truly, Oonops."
About Lisa:
Starting with music from an early age, Lisa Decker wrote and pre-recorded some of these nine songs at least 25 years ago when she was a teenager. In the last years the songs got several times reviewed, reworked and complemented with new works by her besides being a full time (music) education teacher. You could describe the final results as a Pop album with many influences from Jazz, Hip Hop, Funk to Reggae surrounded by a Japanese sound spirit. The original demo tapes from back in the days are still alive.
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White Vinyl
Greyscale's most personal release and perhaps the most important for label owner grad_u aka Aleksandr Martinkevič. Earlier this year, Alex was diagnosed with cancer. Certainly a horrible thing to hear and there has definitely been some low moments in certain stages of the journey. At just 36 years old, many of us are shocked that such a young person can develop cancer. After some research he found out that younger and younger people are randomly getting cancer studies show. An alarming trend to learn about. However, there has also been a lot of other learning and different new levels of appreciation for the simple things in life as a new higher level of inspiration in making music has manifested. And this new release encapsulates that. Alex has also felt a duty to make things better for others. Focusing on what can be improved as he wants to highlight research, treatment and the overall communication of this disease to more people in the electronic music scene. Part of the proceeds from this new album will be donated to the National Cancer Institute in his homeland of Lithuania.
Alex wants everyone to know that catching these signs early and getting regular checkups are your best chance at beating cancer. Thankfully Alex did this also and his treatments have gone well. Alex plans still stay steadfast with his label and his life. Simplifying things with the love from his family and friends, focusing on his hobbies
along with making sure he makes his health his #1 personal priority.
The name for this full length release is titled 'T2NO'. grad_u's most introspective work yet features 8 emotional tracks overall. The honesty expressed in this album is blunt and to the point. These tracks take you on an audio journey thru grad_u as he expresses his feelings thru the entire process in each stage.
Beginning with two wonderful ambient tracks named 'Genetic Mutation' & 'Carcinogen'. In the opener, Chords rain over you as a beautiful ambient melody peeks out underneath it followed by a more stark and hazy field of interference. From the gentle opener to the more tension filled follower, the personal journey of grad_u is
developing before your ears. The b-side of 'Neoplasm' is a bit more somber but also has a ray of light in it.
Introspective as it can get, this is a true journey through an uncertain future. 'MRI scan' needs no explanation....
The second half of the album begins the understanding of what grad_u was going thru. 'Malignant Transformation' gives off that feeling of the human body working thru the science. Fight or flight becomes the theme for this track. 'Adenocarcinoma' almost gives off the sound of cells rebuilding themselves. Sci-fi meets real life in this epic battle. 'Resection' continues this scientific sounding reflection on the body healing with sounds of movement and time. As if the body is working itself out. Lastly and triumphantly comes the closing
track 'Waking up to a New Life'....
The emotional journey of this album isn't for the faint of heart. It leaves nothing to the imagination. It works thru all the emotions that can come with such and life changing event like having cancer. We want to thank grad_u for sharing his story with us. This story can happen to anyone...
"I would like to take this opportunity to express my great gratitude to doctors A. Dulskas, G. Jurevičienė, V. Sidorov and all staff in Abdominal Surgery and Oncology Department at NCI. Thank you for your expert care and for saving my life.
Also, big big thank you my family and closest friends for all their love and support during this difficult period of time and always being there for me."
Special thanks to Lithuanian Council for Culture, associations AGATA and LATGA for support of this special project.
Part of proceeds from the album will be donated to National Cancer Institute, Lithuania
